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Friday, January 23, 2015

This book's title is "A History of the World in 12 Maps". The book is a rather interesting way to cover a lot of history. It was rather a tough book to read. I find myself getting bogged down in parts, but I pushed through it and I was glad I did.

As usual there are some good reviews on Amazon if you care to scroll down to the section called Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com. As always, the Telegraph has a good review. This one is by Noel Malcolm. There is also a review in the Boston Globe by Matthew Price.

There is a good and quite short interview with Jerry Brotton on BBC. On YouTube Jerry Brotton gives a short review of his book. There is a longer video of Jerry Brotton talking about maps after being introduced by Steve Chilton at University College London. It is a longer version of the earlier YouTube talk, but I think that the subject is covered better and quicker in the earlier YouTube video. This is a very interesting question and answer video with Jerry Brotton also on YouTube. However, this last video is off the subject of the book.

On my website is how to find this book on Amazon if you care to purchase it. See Brotton. Also, this book review and other books I have reviewed are on my website at Book Reviews.

Thursday, January 22, 2015

This book’s full title is “The Triple Package: How Three Unlikely Traits Explain the Rise and Fall of Cultural Groups in America”, by Amy Chua and Jed Rubenfeld. They talk about three cultural traits that make certain groups in the US very successful. These groups have a superiority complex, they are insecure and they value impulse control. It is quite an interesting book on American successful groups and why they are successful. It was an interesting point of view.

I often start off to read book reviews on Amazon. You have to scroll down a bit to find them, but they are often worthwhile. There is a good review of this book at the New Republic by William Deresiewicz. This review is probably the best one, but there is also one in the Telegraph by Allison Pearson. I generally like the Telegraph reviews, but this one did not seem to have anything interesting or critical to say about the book.

At Politics and Prose bookstore Amy Chua and Jed Rubenfeld have a chance to speak about their book. This video is almost one hour long. There is a shorter just over 15 minute talk by the authors at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. This talk covers a lot of what was talked about at Politics and Prose. The interview at Book TV After Words have the authors talk about the three qualities discussed in the book.

On my website is how to find this book on Amazon if you care to purchase it. See Chua, Rubenfeld. Also, this book review and other books I have reviewed are on my website at Book Reviews.

Wednesday, January 21, 2015

This book's title is "The Power of Why" by Amanda Lang. On the cover David Chilton the author of The Wealthy Barer Returns says "The Power of Why changes the way you think.... This is truly a great book". She talks about we should not shrink from problems but treat them as intriguing challenges.

As usual there is some good reviews on this book at Amazon. You have to scroll down to the customer reviews half way down the page. There is also quite a good review of this book by Jay Robb.

There is an interview of Amanda Lang by Peter Mansbridge. This is an interview just over 20 minutes. There is a very short introduction at Rotman School by Amanda Lang.

On my website is how to find this book on Amazon if you care to purchase it. See Lang. Also, this book review and other books I have reviewed are on my website at Book Reviews.

Tuesday, January 20, 2015

This book's full title is Champlain's Dream: The Visionary Adventurer who Made a New World in Canada. The author is David Hackett Fischer. I have read other histories of the French in Canada, but presented in an interesting and very different manner. French history in Canada has, of course, talked about Champlain, but I had never read a book just about him. He was a much more interesting character than I had imagined.

I read a paperback version, so there are no recent reviews. There was a good review in the G&M by Jeffrey Simpson in 2009. There is an early one praising the author in the New York Times by Max Boot.

There is an interview of David Hackett Fischer through Random House on YouTube. In this video David Hackett Fischer talks about what drew him to Champlain and his research experiences. This is short video of some 6 minutes. There is also a talk by Fischer at the College of the Atlantic of Maine. This video is 1 and one half hours. His talk starts just over 4 minutes into the video.

On my website is how to find this book on Amazon if you care to purchase it. See Fischer. Also, this book review and other books I have reviewed are on my website at Book Reviews.

Monday, January 19, 2015

I have not been publishing much on this blog lately. It is not that I have not been reading or that I have not been making notes on what I have been reading; I just have not got around to publishing my notes. I have around 8 book reviews to publish ready, so I will try to get on to that.

This book's full title is Asia's Cauldron: The South China Sea and the End of a Stable Pacific. The author is Robert Kaplan. This is another very interesting book by Robert Kaplan. If you have not read anything by Kaplan, you should. He presents history or an historical view of current interesting world developments. In this book he is taking about the South China Sea countries. I always learn something new and interesting about history from Kaplan.

There is a great review of this book at the NY Times. There is another great review at the Economist. The last review I want to mention is one in the Wall Street Journal. It is not only interesting, but a bit critical of Kaplan's writing, something you do not often see.

There is a talk by Kaplan at the Center for a New American Security (CNAS). There is an introduction to Kaplan of just over 5 minutes. This is an interview by Steve Inskeep of Robert Kaplan. The video is some 55 minutes long altogether with Q&A starting at minute 33. There is also a video of Kaplan speaking at Global Ethics Forum. There is a very short introduction and the video is some 27 minutes long with Q&A starting at 19 minutes.

On my website is how to find this book on Amazon if you care to purchase it. See Kaplan. Also, this book review and other books I have reviewed are on my website at Book Reviews.

About Me

I haven’t had a main stream job since 1999.
To do this was a two prong attack of controlling spending and earning income.
I exercise, then run each day before breakfast. I read in the morning, then I go to Starbucks for coffee. I work on my computer in the afternoon. Follow me on twitter at http://twitter.com/spbrunner.